US5005128A - Automated vehicle control - Google Patents
Automated vehicle control Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US5005128A US5005128A US07/346,129 US34612989A US5005128A US 5005128 A US5005128 A US 5005128A US 34612989 A US34612989 A US 34612989A US 5005128 A US5005128 A US 5005128A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- vehicle
- reflectors
- area
- initialization
- navigation system
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013479 data entry Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
- G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
- G05D1/021—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles
- G05D1/0231—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using optical position detecting means
- G05D1/0234—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using optical position detecting means using optical markers or beacons
- G05D1/0236—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to land vehicles using optical position detecting means using optical markers or beacons in combination with a laser
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
- G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G05D1/00—Control of position, course or altitude of land, water, air, or space vehicles, e.g. automatic pilot
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S17/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
- G01S17/02—Systems using the reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
- G01S17/06—Systems determining position data of a target
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G01S17/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
- G01S17/87—Combinations of systems using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
Definitions
- This invention relates to the control of automated vehicles which move around a site, such as a factory or a warehouse, in accordance with control signals generated by a computer.
- the invention is particularly relevant to vehicles which are controlled over radio or other remote control links and do not rely on guidance wires or tracks.
- British Patent No. 2,143,395 (assigned to the same assignee as the instant application) discloses such a system in which a number of mobile trucks are controlled and guided under the overall control of a base station.
- the trucks are utilised to transfer material between a store area and a work position. Finished work-pieces are transferred by means of one of the trucks to a holding area for removal and utilisation as required.
- the base station allocates destinations to each of the trucks via a communication link, such as a radio or infra-red link.
- Each vehicle has a scanning laser beam which rotates in azimuth so that it scans across a number of reflector boards which are spaced apart around the site.
- Each reflector board is provided with uniquely coded strips of a retro-reflective material which is such that the laser beam incident thereon is reflected back along the same path.
- Each vehicle is therby able, using triangulation techiniques, to determine its own position relative to any location within the site.
- Each vehicle monitors its own position as it moves along a path to its required destination, and continuously transmits its position back to the base station, so that the base station can control the truck movements so as to avoid collisions.
- the retro-reflective stripes and the non-reflective stripes therebetween form a unique bar code on each reflector board.
- the stripes are scanned sequentially by the laser beam, the first few stripes in the sequence provide a code which confirms that a reflector board has been found (as distinct from any other reflective body which might be encountered).
- the next stripes in the sequence identify the particular target board which is being interrogated, and the final stripe indicates the position of the end of the reflector board with a high degree of accuracy, for determination of the position of the vehicle.
- the reflector boards must not be made too large, or they will encroach upon the area available for vehicle and personnel movements.
- the stripes must not be too narrow, or the reliability of code reading will be unacceptable. It follows, therefore, that, for an acceptable board size and an acceptable stripe width, only a limited number of stripes, and hence only a limited number of uniquely-coded boards, can be provided.
- a method of operating a vehicle guidance and control system of the kind including a vehicle having motive power and steering, a navigation system and means for transmitting a directional laser beam which is scanned in a predetermined sense; a plurality of reflectors spaced apart from each other, each incorporating an optical code which identifies that reflector, and each of which is located so as to be capable of intercepting the laser beam; and means to utilise light reflected back to the vehicle by at least two reflectors for controlling the movement and heading of the vehicle; the method comprising the steps of notionally dividing an area in which the vehicle is to operate into a plurality of equal sub-areas of predetermined dimensions, each provided with a plurality of the reflectors; positioning the vehicle at an initial location from which its laser beam can scan initialisation reflectors located at positions selected for initialisation of its navigation system; feeding to the navigation system data defining the positions of the initialisation reflectors; and causing the navigation system to determine the position of the vehicle with respect to the initialisation reflectors;
- three initialisation reflectors will be scanned, unless the vehicle has means, such as a compass, for determining its heading, when two reflectors will be sufficient.
- the method of the present invention allows duplication of reflector codes in different sub-areas, because at any instant the vehicle can determine in which sub-area it is located and so can differentiate between a reflector in one sub-area and an identically-coded reflector in another sub-area.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of vehicle control and guidance apparatus
- FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a coded reflective target
- FIG. 3 illustrates part of a vehicle movement area, divided into sub-areas
- FIG. 4 illustrates part of the area of FIG. 3 provided with initialisation targets in accordance with the invention.
- a controller 1 for controlling the movement of vehicles, such as the vehicles 2 and 3, around an area 4 comprises a computer 5 which generates vehicle control signals which are fed to a radio transmitter 6.
- the signals are used to modulate a carrier wave which is transmitted via an antenna 7 and is received by antennas 8 and 9 on the vehicles 2 and 3.
- Data are fed into the computer 5 from data input means 10 which includes a radio receiver which receives position data from the vehicles 2 and 3 via an antenna 11.
- the data may alternatively be transmitted by other means, such as via an ultra sonic or laser link.
- the data input means may also comprise sensors for the automatic sensing of conditions within the area, and a keyboard 12 is provided for manual data entry.
- the navigation system of each vehicle is preferably as described in the above-mentioned British Pat. No. 2,143,395.
- coded retro-reflective targets 13 are positioned around the area 4.
- Rotary laser scanners 14, 15 are fitted on the vehicles 2 and 3, respectively, and the navigation system of each vehicle continously determines, from reflections from the coded targets, and by triangulation, the exact position of the respective vehicle relative to those targets in the manner taught in said British patent.
- FIG. 2 shows an example of a coded reflective target 13.
- the target has alternate reflective stripes 16 and non-reflective stripes 17.
- the widths of the stripes determine the code elements, so that a wide reflective stripe follwed by a narrow non-reflective stripe represents a digital 1 element, and a narrow reflective stripe followed by a wide non-reflective stripe represents a digital 0 element.
- a number of the code elements are used to confirm that the laser beam reflections are received from a target and not from some other reflective surface.
- the number of pairs of stripes available for encoding the target identity, without making the target excessively large, may be limited to, say, five, so that only thirty-two different reflector codes can be achieved.
- FIG. 3 represents a plan of part of a very large area 18 over which vehicles are to move.
- Such area may be, for example, 700 m ⁇ 400 m.
- the reflective targets must not be spaced apart by more than, say, 40 m.
- the area is therefore divided into sub-areas 19, which are preferably square and are preferably of 32.767 meters side. The latter dimension is chosen as convenient when a 16-bit word is used for characterising the position, the most significant bit being used to indicate polarity. The largest number which can be represented by the remaining fifteen bits is then 32,767.
- Four reflective targets 13 are located in each square, the targets being affixed to walls, where available, or otherwise to posts 20 or other supports.
- a vehicle such as the vehicle 2
- its scanner scans the datum targets so that its navigation system can accurately determine the initial position of the vehicle relative to those targets, and its initial heading using a technique similar to that used for determining the position and heading of the moving vehicle in the above-mentioned British patent.
- the navigation system keeps a record of the present distance of the vehicle from the initialisation datum position and the present heading of the vehicle. In that way the navigation system always has a record of which sub-area is occupied by the vehicle at any instant and can then determine positional data accurately from the targets in that sub-area.
- the datum targets may be located at any other desired position within or alongside the area 18. Indeed, three of the targets 13 within any of the sub-areas may be treated as datum targets. One or more further sets of datum targets may be located around the area to avoid the need for the vehicle to travel a large distance for the initialisation process.
Abstract
Description
Claims (5)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8811442A GB2218590B (en) | 1988-05-13 | 1988-05-13 | Automated vehicle control |
GB8811442 | 1988-05-13 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US5005128A true US5005128A (en) | 1991-04-02 |
Family
ID=10636904
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US07/346,129 Expired - Lifetime US5005128A (en) | 1988-05-13 | 1989-05-02 | Automated vehicle control |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US5005128A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0341890B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2741403B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR970002256B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE68908259T2 (en) |
ES (1) | ES2045423T3 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2218590B (en) |
IE (1) | IE60924B1 (en) |
Cited By (28)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5170350A (en) * | 1990-06-27 | 1992-12-08 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Steering control system for moving vehicle |
US5237164A (en) * | 1989-05-12 | 1993-08-17 | Sony Corporation | Card having retroreflective bar codes and a magnetic stripe |
US5279672A (en) * | 1992-06-29 | 1994-01-18 | Windsor Industries, Inc. | Automatic controlled cleaning machine |
US5281901A (en) * | 1990-12-03 | 1994-01-25 | Eaton-Kenway, Inc. | Downward compatible AGV system and methods |
US5367458A (en) * | 1993-08-10 | 1994-11-22 | Caterpillar Industrial Inc. | Apparatus and method for identifying scanned reflective anonymous targets |
WO1995029380A1 (en) * | 1994-04-20 | 1995-11-02 | Siman Sensors & Intelligent Machines Ltd. | Navigation system for fast automated vehicles and mobile robots |
US5467273A (en) * | 1992-01-12 | 1995-11-14 | State Of Israel, Ministry Of Defence, Rafael Armament Development Authority | Large area movement robot |
US6442476B1 (en) | 1998-04-15 | 2002-08-27 | Research Organisation | Method of tracking and sensing position of objects |
US6556598B1 (en) * | 2000-07-21 | 2003-04-29 | Self-Guided Systems, Llc | Laser guidance assembly for a vehicle |
US20040112660A1 (en) * | 2000-06-22 | 2004-06-17 | Goran Johansson | Device at ro-ro vessel |
US7706917B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2010-04-27 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US20110153338A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | System and method for deploying portable landmarks |
US20110153072A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | Enhanced visual landmark for localization |
US20110153136A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | System and method for area coverage using sector decomposition |
US8966693B2 (en) | 2009-08-05 | 2015-03-03 | Karcher N. America, Inc. | Method and apparatus for extended use of cleaning fluid in a floor cleaning machine |
US20180216941A1 (en) * | 2015-07-31 | 2018-08-02 | Tianjin University | Indoor mobile robot position and posture measurement system based on photoelectric scanning and measurement method |
US10555657B2 (en) | 2003-05-14 | 2020-02-11 | Kärcher North America, Inc. | Floor treatment apparatus |
US10589931B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-03-17 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US10599157B2 (en) * | 2015-06-10 | 2020-03-24 | Doog Inc. | Autonomous movement system |
US10683171B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-06-16 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US10803420B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-10-13 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
USD907868S1 (en) | 2019-01-24 | 2021-01-12 | Karcher North America, Inc. | Floor cleaner |
US11084410B1 (en) | 2018-08-07 | 2021-08-10 | Staples, Inc. | Automated guided vehicle for transporting shelving units |
US11119487B2 (en) | 2018-12-31 | 2021-09-14 | Staples, Inc. | Automated preparation of deliveries in delivery vehicles using automated guided vehicles |
US11124401B1 (en) | 2019-03-31 | 2021-09-21 | Staples, Inc. | Automated loading of delivery vehicles |
US11180069B2 (en) | 2018-12-31 | 2021-11-23 | Staples, Inc. | Automated loading of delivery vehicles using automated guided vehicles |
US11590997B1 (en) | 2018-08-07 | 2023-02-28 | Staples, Inc. | Autonomous shopping cart |
US11630447B1 (en) | 2018-08-10 | 2023-04-18 | Staples, Inc. | Automated guided vehicle for transporting objects |
Families Citing this family (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2259210B (en) * | 1991-08-30 | 1995-10-04 | Marconi Gec Ltd | Aircraft ground movement monitor |
IT1272491B (en) * | 1993-07-29 | 1997-06-23 | Renato Zaccaria | METHOD FOR DETECTING THE POSITION OF A MOBILE VEHICLE IN A DELIMITED PLANE AND DEVICE THAT REALIZES THIS METHOD |
WO1998054593A1 (en) | 1997-05-30 | 1998-12-03 | British Broadcasting Corporation | Position determination |
GB2366463B (en) * | 1997-05-30 | 2002-04-17 | British Broadcasting Corp | Position determination |
EP1103824A3 (en) * | 1999-11-23 | 2002-08-28 | Xerox Corporation | Virtual control system using non-imaging scanners |
EP1517117A1 (en) * | 2003-09-22 | 2005-03-23 | Leica Geosystems AG | Method and system for the determination of the actual position of a positioning apparatus |
ES2401509B1 (en) * | 2011-10-05 | 2014-03-05 | Universidad De Almería | GUIDING SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES IN STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENTS. |
DE202014104780U1 (en) | 2013-12-04 | 2014-10-29 | Götting KG | Driverless floorbound vehicle |
CN104515441B (en) * | 2014-12-26 | 2015-12-02 | 中国人民解放军总装备部军械技术研究所 | The performance test of a kind of turbine safety fuze is detonated protector |
CN110262474B (en) * | 2019-05-06 | 2022-04-05 | 深圳市恒天伟焱科技股份有限公司 | Automatic control system and method for laser guide trolley traveling line |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4700301A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1987-10-13 | Dyke Howard L | Method of automatically steering agricultural type vehicles |
US4716530A (en) * | 1984-05-21 | 1987-12-29 | Kabushiki Kaisha Meidensha | System for automatically controlling movement of unmanned vehicle and method therefor |
US4796198A (en) * | 1986-10-17 | 1989-01-03 | The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy | Method for laser-based two-dimensional navigation system in a structured environment |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4225226A (en) * | 1978-12-29 | 1980-09-30 | Spectra-Physics, Inc. | Laser guidance system for crop spraying aircraft |
GB2143395B (en) * | 1983-05-14 | 1986-08-06 | Gen Electric Co Plc | Vehicle guidance and control system |
US4670648A (en) * | 1985-03-06 | 1987-06-02 | University Of Cincinnati | Omnidirectional vision system for controllng mobile machines |
JP2661661B2 (en) * | 1985-08-30 | 1997-10-08 | テキサス インスツルメンツ インコーポレイテッド | Utilization of mobile vehicle control system of delay absolute position data for guidance and steering |
-
1988
- 1988-05-13 GB GB8811442A patent/GB2218590B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1989
- 1989-05-02 IE IE143089A patent/IE60924B1/en unknown
- 1989-05-02 US US07/346,129 patent/US5005128A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-05-03 DE DE89304450T patent/DE68908259T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1989-05-03 EP EP89304450A patent/EP0341890B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-05-03 ES ES89304450T patent/ES2045423T3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-05-11 JP JP1118489A patent/JP2741403B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1989-05-11 KR KR1019890006349A patent/KR970002256B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4700301A (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1987-10-13 | Dyke Howard L | Method of automatically steering agricultural type vehicles |
US4716530A (en) * | 1984-05-21 | 1987-12-29 | Kabushiki Kaisha Meidensha | System for automatically controlling movement of unmanned vehicle and method therefor |
US4796198A (en) * | 1986-10-17 | 1989-01-03 | The United States Of America As Represented By The United States Department Of Energy | Method for laser-based two-dimensional navigation system in a structured environment |
Cited By (41)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5237164A (en) * | 1989-05-12 | 1993-08-17 | Sony Corporation | Card having retroreflective bar codes and a magnetic stripe |
US5170350A (en) * | 1990-06-27 | 1992-12-08 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Steering control system for moving vehicle |
US5281901A (en) * | 1990-12-03 | 1994-01-25 | Eaton-Kenway, Inc. | Downward compatible AGV system and methods |
US5467273A (en) * | 1992-01-12 | 1995-11-14 | State Of Israel, Ministry Of Defence, Rafael Armament Development Authority | Large area movement robot |
US5279672A (en) * | 1992-06-29 | 1994-01-18 | Windsor Industries, Inc. | Automatic controlled cleaning machine |
US5367458A (en) * | 1993-08-10 | 1994-11-22 | Caterpillar Industrial Inc. | Apparatus and method for identifying scanned reflective anonymous targets |
WO1995029380A1 (en) * | 1994-04-20 | 1995-11-02 | Siman Sensors & Intelligent Machines Ltd. | Navigation system for fast automated vehicles and mobile robots |
US6442476B1 (en) | 1998-04-15 | 2002-08-27 | Research Organisation | Method of tracking and sensing position of objects |
US7044247B2 (en) * | 2000-06-22 | 2006-05-16 | Tts Ships Equipment Ab | Device at Ro-Ro vessel |
US20040112660A1 (en) * | 2000-06-22 | 2004-06-17 | Goran Johansson | Device at ro-ro vessel |
US6556598B1 (en) * | 2000-07-21 | 2003-04-29 | Self-Guided Systems, Llc | Laser guidance assembly for a vehicle |
US10555657B2 (en) | 2003-05-14 | 2020-02-11 | Kärcher North America, Inc. | Floor treatment apparatus |
US7706917B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2010-04-27 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US8874264B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2014-10-28 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US8634956B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2014-01-21 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US8594840B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2013-11-26 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US8634958B1 (en) | 2004-07-07 | 2014-01-21 | Irobot Corporation | Celestial navigation system for an autonomous robot |
US8966693B2 (en) | 2009-08-05 | 2015-03-03 | Karcher N. America, Inc. | Method and apparatus for extended use of cleaning fluid in a floor cleaning machine |
US8666554B2 (en) | 2009-12-17 | 2014-03-04 | Deere & Company | System and method for area coverage using sector decomposition |
US8224516B2 (en) | 2009-12-17 | 2012-07-17 | Deere & Company | System and method for area coverage using sector decomposition |
US20110153136A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | System and method for area coverage using sector decomposition |
US20110153072A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | Enhanced visual landmark for localization |
US8989946B2 (en) | 2009-12-17 | 2015-03-24 | Deere & Company | System and method for area coverage using sector decomposition |
US8635015B2 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2014-01-21 | Deere & Company | Enhanced visual landmark for localization |
US20110153338A1 (en) * | 2009-12-17 | 2011-06-23 | Noel Wayne Anderson | System and method for deploying portable landmarks |
US10599157B2 (en) * | 2015-06-10 | 2020-03-24 | Doog Inc. | Autonomous movement system |
US10801843B2 (en) * | 2015-07-31 | 2020-10-13 | Tianjin University | Indoor mobile robot position and posture measurement system based on photoelectric scanning and measurement method |
US20180216941A1 (en) * | 2015-07-31 | 2018-08-02 | Tianjin University | Indoor mobile robot position and posture measurement system based on photoelectric scanning and measurement method |
US10589931B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-03-17 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US10683171B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-06-16 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US10803420B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2020-10-13 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US11893535B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2024-02-06 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US11702287B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2023-07-18 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US11697554B2 (en) | 2016-09-30 | 2023-07-11 | Staples, Inc. | Hybrid modular storage fetching system |
US11590997B1 (en) | 2018-08-07 | 2023-02-28 | Staples, Inc. | Autonomous shopping cart |
US11084410B1 (en) | 2018-08-07 | 2021-08-10 | Staples, Inc. | Automated guided vehicle for transporting shelving units |
US11630447B1 (en) | 2018-08-10 | 2023-04-18 | Staples, Inc. | Automated guided vehicle for transporting objects |
US11180069B2 (en) | 2018-12-31 | 2021-11-23 | Staples, Inc. | Automated loading of delivery vehicles using automated guided vehicles |
US11119487B2 (en) | 2018-12-31 | 2021-09-14 | Staples, Inc. | Automated preparation of deliveries in delivery vehicles using automated guided vehicles |
USD907868S1 (en) | 2019-01-24 | 2021-01-12 | Karcher North America, Inc. | Floor cleaner |
US11124401B1 (en) | 2019-03-31 | 2021-09-21 | Staples, Inc. | Automated loading of delivery vehicles |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0341890A2 (en) | 1989-11-15 |
IE60924B1 (en) | 1994-09-07 |
GB8811442D0 (en) | 1988-06-15 |
GB2218590B (en) | 1992-05-20 |
EP0341890B1 (en) | 1993-08-11 |
DE68908259T2 (en) | 1993-11-25 |
ES2045423T3 (en) | 1994-01-16 |
EP0341890A3 (en) | 1990-12-19 |
GB2218590A (en) | 1989-11-15 |
IE891430L (en) | 1989-11-13 |
DE68908259D1 (en) | 1993-09-16 |
JP2741403B2 (en) | 1998-04-15 |
KR900018778A (en) | 1990-12-22 |
JPH0256611A (en) | 1990-02-26 |
KR970002256B1 (en) | 1997-02-26 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US5005128A (en) | Automated vehicle control | |
US4647784A (en) | Vehicle guidance and control system | |
EP0185816A1 (en) | A vehicle guidance and control system | |
US4309758A (en) | Driverless vehicle autoguided by light signals and three non-directional detectors | |
EP0193985B1 (en) | System for navigating a free ranging vehicle | |
GB2143395A (en) | Vehicle guidance and control system | |
US4855915A (en) | Autoguided vehicle using reflective materials | |
KR100578680B1 (en) | Method and device for association of anonymous reflectors to detected angle positions | |
US4947094A (en) | Optical guidance system for industrial vehicles | |
US4753569A (en) | Robot calibration | |
EP0007789A2 (en) | Driverless vehicle carrying directional detectors auto-guided by light signals | |
US6269291B1 (en) | System and method for controlling of vehicles | |
US4939522A (en) | Method and system for monitoring vehicle location | |
KR930701726A (en) | Spatial positioning system | |
CN1377479A (en) | Method and device for detecting position of vehicle in given area | |
US5011288A (en) | Position control system for unmanned automated vehicle | |
US4882694A (en) | Apparatus for visually locating and communicating with mobile robots | |
EP0363072A1 (en) | Automated vehicle control | |
US3823326A (en) | Method of and apparatus for reading information contained in coded form | |
US5068795A (en) | System for detecting position of moving vehicle | |
JPH0422202B2 (en) | ||
CA1238706A (en) | Vehicle guidance and control system | |
KR920009051B1 (en) | A vehicle guidance and control system | |
SE1830249A1 (en) | A method for achieving traceability of a tool operation | |
JPH0628030A (en) | Method for detecting position of mobile body |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, P.L.C., THE, 1 STANHOPE Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:ROBINS, MICHAEL P.;ROBERTS, MALCOLM T.;REEL/FRAME:005148/0512;SIGNING DATES FROM 19890208 TO 19890710 |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: CEGELEC CONTROLS LIMITED, ENGLAND Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, P.L.C., THE;REEL/FRAME:006285/0875 Effective date: 19920929 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 8 |
|
FEPP | Fee payment procedure |
Free format text: PAYER NUMBER DE-ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: RMPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Free format text: PAYOR NUMBER ASSIGNED (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: ASPN); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY |
|
FPAY | Fee payment |
Year of fee payment: 12 |